Why do new Gmail signups or new email templates have low open rates?

Marketer from Email Geeks jokingly suggests that the 'magic word' to improve inbox placement after initial low open rates is 'engagement'.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares an experience of very low (1%) open rates at Gmail for recent signups across multiple clients and ESPs, which resolved after re-sending the same lists. He also suspects Gmail might not be assigning proper reputation to new recipients for a few weeks.

Marketer from Email Geeks notes a client observation similar to the original question, specifically regarding recently subscribed Gmail recipients. He suggests potential caching issues or a heavier emphasis on not loading web bugs for new senders.

Email marketer from Mailchimp Resources shares that a new email template might have lower open rates because it hasn't established a reputation with email providers. They advise monitoring engagement metrics for the new template closely and making adjustments based on recipient behavior to improve its performance.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that Gmail's algorithm can be initially cautious with new signups, placing them in the promotions tab or even spam folder until engagement is established. He recommends focusing on providing valuable content and encouraging recipients to move emails to their primary inbox to signal positive engagement.

Email marketer from Stack Overflow mentions that poorly formatted HTML or spam-like content in new email templates can negatively impact deliverability and open rates. They advise adhering to email design best practices, avoiding excessive use of images, and ensuring a balanced text-to-image ratio.

Email marketer from Litmus shares the fact that some email clients block images by default, especially for new recipients. They recommend using alt text for all images and designing emails that are effective even with images disabled, to ensure key messages are still conveyed.

Email marketer from Digital Marketer explains that sending generic emails to all new signups can lead to low engagement. He suggests segmenting new subscribers based on their interests or behavior and sending targeted content to improve open rates and overall engagement.

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog explains that new email signups may have lower open rates due to a lack of engagement history. Neil recommends warming up new subscribers by sending them targeted, high-value content to encourage interaction, which helps build a positive sender reputation and improves deliverability over time.

Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog explains that new email templates suffer from lower open rates due to a number of possible factors that affects deliverability. These can be things like content and image size and they recommend monitoring these with a number of A/B tests.

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains new email signups suffer from lower open rates if there is a lack of personalization. Start collecting data on email signups and use that data to personalize your subject lines and email content to help improve email open rates with your new sign ups.

Email marketer from HubSpot explains new email templates suffer from lower open rates when there is no consistency. Make sure your email addresses, subject lines, and content aligns with their expectations and preferences in order to start seeing improved open rates.

Expert from Email Geeks suggests that lower open rates on new templates might be due to Gmail not prefetching images for them, unlike older templates or older signups. She also mentions that ML engines tend to be conservative with new streams, templates, or recipients.

Expert from Word to the Wise shares that poor list hygiene and lack of engagement are major factors affecting deliverability and open rates. New Gmail signups are often less engaged and more likely to ignore emails, lowering overall open rates. He recommends a focus on acquiring engaged subscribers and consistently removing inactive users.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that new IP addresses often face deliverability challenges, and new Gmail signups are in a similar situation until they build a positive sender reputation. Email volume should be ramped up slowly when using a new IP or template and monitor performance metrics to ensure emails are reaching the inbox.

Documentation from Microsoft Documentation answers that new templates or sudden volume increases can trigger spam filters, resulting in lower open rates. They recommend gradually increasing volume and maintaining consistent sending patterns to build trust with their email filtering system.

Documentation from GlockApps answers that testing inbox placement with tools is helpful in identifying deliverability issues affecting new senders or templates. They suggest analyzing test results to identify which spam filters are being triggered and making necessary adjustments to improve inbox placement.

Documentation from RFC-Editor explains that implementing email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for building a positive sender reputation. New senders especially need to authenticate their emails to prove their legitimacy to email providers, reducing the likelihood of being filtered as spam and improving open rates.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools answers that new senders and templates can suffer low open rates. This is because they don't yet have an established sender reputation and their engagement rates need to be improved. The documentation recommends authenticating your email, sending consistent volume, and ensuring low spam complaint rates to improve your reputation.